Someone’s Half Full Of It

There’s always someone talking about seeing the world as a cup that is half full instead of half empty. What are they doing looking at cups anyway?  Glasses have been used to correct vision for a long, long time. That makes better sense.  I could see if it were glasses they were looking at or through, but then what’s in that glass? There are lots and lots of liquids that aren’t very transparent.  You really can’t see much at all through a glass of opaque or even translucent liquid.  

Water, you say?  Oh, but what’s so special about seeing through water?  Surely you aren’t buying the notion that all water is crystal clear.  Not everybody’s water is clear, you know.  Oh, sure, if you’re looking at your feet in the water of the Gulf of Mexico. you’ll see the bottom of the water very clearly.  But in beautiful Hilton Head, the water is murky, and that’s probably preferable there. It’s easier to enjoy swimming and you’ll forget about all those sharks swimming around with you, even in waters less than a foot deep. Our beaches on Hilton Head Island are just around the corner (literally) from the Port Royal Sound, which is reputed to be the world’s largest spawning area for sharks (wait a minute—should I say literally or littorally? —I need to look that up… Yes, I did look it up and littoral is an adjective meaning “relating to or situated on the shore of the sea or a lake.”)

Ah, but back to people seeing cups half full being more than half full of it—why does anyone need to compare anyone’s world-view to a cup or glass half full or half empty?  Isn’t there something missing here?  Shouldn’t we at least mention what the cup has in it? Why assume it’s full of something wonderful?  Couldn’t it be full of something less than desirable?  Maybe it contains some unpalatable wine.  For some wine “experts” that I know that means one that costs less than $100 a bottle.  A wine-loving person we know calls such inferior beverages “patio” wines, meaning they wouldn’t be served at one’s dinner table.  I’m happy to enjoy a glass of wine on my patio on a cool evening, and—do you know what?  A cup or glass of such a beverage usually improves my outlook.  So, it might  just be possible that one’s world view can be influenced by seeing a half full glass of the right something.  Now please don’t get me started on seeing the world through rose-colored glasses!